No one denies that the Asia Pacifi c (AP) market offers huge potential for mobile television. In fact, the latest statistics by Pyramid Research count AP mobile video users at 59 million, generating a cumulative US$31 billion from 250 million mobile-videoservice subscribers by the end of 2014. Another analyst fi rm, RNCOS, says the AP region will account for approximately 67 per cent of the global mobile-TV subscribers by 2013. Clearly, this region is poised for a mobile-TV explosion. Then why, so far, have adoption and usage of mobile-video services failed to live up to expectations, with operators and content providers suffering continuing losses? While mobile-network operators, technology/content providers and handset manufacturers have largely overcome the many technological hurdles to launching mobile TV, these stakeholders are now left with the primary task of ensuring the successful implementation and take-up of mobile-video services. These parties – each of whom play an integral role in mobile video’s success – have yet to agree upon a sustainable business case, which adequately rewards each party for their investment. So what are the ingredients needed for a successful mobile-TV rollout, and how do stakeholders combine these elements to maximize mobile TV’s potential. Challenges Facing Stakeholders The rollout of mobile TV has forced two camps with seemingly divergent sets of goals – broadcasters and “new media” (mobile-network operators, content providers and handset manufacturers) – to work together. So far, it hasn’t been a happy marriage. While traditional media is limited to the TV and radio broadcast industries maintaining iron-clad control over programming rights and demanding minimum guarantees, the model doesn’t fi t the “new media” paradigm. Mobile-network operators spent billions upgrading to 3G and 4G networks that they need to monetize such value-added services. Content providers, and especially rich-data services such as video, are a key component of driving revenue/ ARPU. But minimum guarantees demanded by the content providers make profi tability near impossible for a network operator facing very high CAPEX. Mobile operators need to make sure they can gain premium value on the rising demand for mobile video, particularly given the huge strain that bandwidth-rich video and streaming television can put on a mobile network. At the same time, technology and content providers also need to be compensated. Mobile apps providers are usually young companies working on small budgets but bringing out innovative and cuttingedge smartphone applications. They spend millions developing new technology and it is an impossible proposition for most to adhere to hefty, minimum-guarantee licensing deals. Demanding the same kind of premiums and payments for content licensing and rights management, as is done in the TV-broadcast business, will effectively kill the mobile-delivery business for LIVE and premium-video content. The bottom line is that both parties – broadcasters and “new media” – need each other, and a successful mobile TV ecosystem will require a revenue-sharing model that benefi ts them both. Ingredients Needed for Successful Mobile TV Rollout: Devices, Networks, Content Once broadcasters and mobile- TV stakeholders establish a workable business model, what other ingredients are needed for a successful mobile-TV rollout? The key deliverables are low-cost, video-appropriate devices; networks capable of delivering an enjoyable mobile-video viewing experience; and mobile-ready content. Today’s handsets have risen to the occasion with the onslaught of more cost-effective smartphones and tablet PCs that can support high-resolution video-broadcasting services at high-data transfer rates, and are equipped with larger screens and longer battery life. Mobile operators are migrating to 3.5 and 4G networks capable of faster data-transfer speeds with lower latency, in addition to the development and deployment of mobile-broadcasting technology. The enhanced capabilities of these networks make them ripe for LIVE, steaming content, and APAC carriers such as Singapore’s Starhub, Singtel, M1, NTT Docomo (Japan), SK Telecom (South Korea), and PCCW (Hong Kong) have already rolled out such mobile-video services. Of course, no one will tune in if the content isn’t appealing, so getting content optimized for mobile devices, as well as understanding the types of content users want, is essential. Simply forwarding TV content to mobile devices isn’t suffi cient. Operators need mobile-ready content that is easy to navigate and watch on a mobile device. Introducing Pricing Plans for Video Content that are Sustainable and Transparent Assuming the right devices, capable networks and appealing mobile-ready content are in place, together with a reasonable revenueshare agreement with content providers, it’s time to focus on pricing models. In the past, unlimited data plans and per megabit pricing have prevailed. However, the former is a tricky proposition for operators, who end up subsidizing heavy data usage, while the latter is confusing for consumers who don’t generally understand the bits and bytes of bandwidth. A case-in-point is AT&T (US) and the iPhone. When AT&T fi rst offered Apple’s sought-after smartphone bundled with the network’s subscription plans, AT&T charged a US$30 monthly fl at fee for unlimited data usage. However, this resulted in an alarming 3 per cent of AT&T’s customers utilizing 40 per cent of its network capacity. To address the situation, AT&T had to re-work its pricing structure so that customers who utilize more bandwidth pay more for that privilege. Perhaps learning from AT&T’s case of abused unlimited iPhone data plans, Singapore’s three telcos – M1, Singtel and Starhub – offer iPhone data usage capped according to subscription plans. While this new iPhone data pricing brings customer pricing parity and forces heavy bandwidth users to pay more for use of the carrier’s network, the resulting per-MB pricing lacks transparency. Mobile-network operators need to come up with a pricing structure for video content that is sustainable for them, and understandable for their users. Differentiating Pricing for Live vs. Archived Video Content Video content generally falls into two categories – LIVE and archived – and must be priced differently. LIVE content, such as an exciting sports match or a rapidly changing news event, carries, understandably, a higher premium. The most likely scenario for LIVE-content pricing is a subscription model that adequately compensates operators for the expense associated with obtaining content rights, as well as consumerbandwidth usage. This type of pricing may be done per clip or per minute/hour of viewing, or it may be priced for broader viewing lengths (weekly/monthly). On the other hand, archived content, a lot of which is user-generated, such as Google’s YouTube, and can be streamed over Wi-Fi networks, is not time-sensitive, and can be more of an ad-supported model. There is no question that mobilenetwork operators are a critical element of the mobile-video explosion. The question is whether they will be simply the channel for this rollout, or if they will be able to monetize apps running over their network as well. Many consumers simply download free or subscription-based apps and use their carrier-data plans to run them. However, carriers may choose to purchase white-labeled apps, rebrand them, and generate monthly subscriptions from these services. Delivering on Mobile TV’s Potential Mobile TV is a new and exciting service with high potential. Consumers who used to be tethered to their TV screens now have more freedom to watch what they want, when they want. Many are “cutting the cord” from their cable provider, accessing services such as Google TV and Hulu through broadband, and watching these services on their iPad or connected TV. Others are viewing sitcoms or news and entertainment clips on their iPhone or other mobile device. Times have changed, and broadcasters, content providers, as well as mobile-network operators, must change with them. There is immense opportunity for content to be broadcast to a plethora of new devices anytime, anywhere. The technology is ripe, the networks are ready, the devices are in place, pricing scenarios are viable and consumers are eager. Now, it’s up to the main stakeholders – broadcasters and the “new media” – to agree upon revenue share and watch the next generation of mobile video explode.